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{{no footnotes|date=April 2014}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox saint
{{Infobox saint
|name=Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
|name=Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
|birth_date={{Birth date|1861|8|26|mf=y}}
|birth_date={{Birth date|1861|8|26|mf=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1936|8|8|1861|8|26|mf=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1936|8|9|1861|8|26|mf=y}}<ref>[http://rombase.uni-graz.at//cgi-bin/art.cgisrc=data/pers/pele.en.xml Miklušáková, Marta. "Ceferino Jiménez Malla – 'El Pelé'", Rombase]</ref>
|feast_day=May 4
|feast_day=May 4
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]]
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]]
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==Biography==
==Biography==
Giménez Malla was born to Juan Jiménez and Josefa Malla, a Catholic Romani family, in either Benavent de Segriá, Lleida or in Alcolea de Cinca, Spain. Sources differ as to whether the year was 1861 or 1865.<ref name=famvin>[http://famvin.org/wiki/Ceferino_Gim%C3%A9nez_Malla "Ceferino Giménez Malla", Vincentian Library]</ref> He was baptized in [[Fraga]], [[Huesca (province)|Huesca Province]].<ref name=Vilches/> His father was a cattle-trader. The family usually waited out the winter on farms in places farmers set aside for them, or else they rented a cottage for a few months. Ceferino often wen hungry. Accompanying his father, he became conversant in Catalan as well as Romany. Around 1880 his father abandoned the family and they went to [[Barbastro]], where his uncle taught Ceferino to weave wicker baskets. About the age of twenty, he wed Teresa Jiménez Castro according to a traditional Roma ceremony. They were happily married for forty years.<ref name=Pettiti>[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://santiebeati.it/Detailed/90025.html&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=it&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools Pettiti, Gianpiero. "Blessed Ceferino (Ceferino) Gimenez Malla", Santi Beati, March 11, 2012]</ref> They had no children, but looked after his younger brothers and sisters. Around 1909 they adopted Teresa's orphaned niece, Pepita. In 1912, Giménez Malla and his wife Teresa solemnized their marriage in a [[Catholic marriage|Catholic ceremony]], and bought a house in the Huescan town of Barbastro. Teresa died in 1922. (Pepita's descendants were still living in Spain during the early 2000s.)


Known for his honesty, Ceferino became something of a leader in the Roma community of Barbastro and the surrounding area. People would seek him out for advice, and to mediate family quarrels. He also resolved disputes between Romani and Spanish people.<ref name=Pettiti/>
Giménez Malla was born in [[Fraga]], [[Huesca (province)|Huesca Province]], of a Romani family. His father was a cattle-trader, and, initially, Ceferino himself practiced the trade: for forty years, he lived as a [[Nomadism|nomad]]. He was married since his teen years, but did not father any children. In 1912, Giménez Malla married his wife Teresa in a [[Catholic marriage|Catholic ceremony]], and bought a house in the Huescan town of [[Barbastro]]. They also adopted Teresa's niece Pepita, who was an orphan: Teresa died in 1922, and Pepita has still had descendants living in Spain during the early 2000s.


One day a local landowner, suffering from tuberculosis, passed out on the street. Heedless of the danger of contagion, Malla hoisted the man on his shoulders and carried him home. The grateful family rewarded him with a sum sufficient to start a business buying and selling mules which the French army no longer needed after World War I.<ref name=Pettiti/> Tools with which he cleaned horseshoes and iron shoes for mules and donkeys were donated by the son of Ceferino's friend, Ferruchón, to the Museum of Martyrs in Barbastro. Ceferino was as generous to the poor and needy as he is successful. It is said that he often lent money to poor Roma, and also allowed them to remove from the stables the animals they liked most. They could pay their debts when they sold them or at the end of their seasonal work when they could afford to do so.
Ceferino was not literate, but he visited church and knew much about his faith and about the [[Bible]]. He taught [[Christianity]] to both Romani and [[Spanish people|ethnic Spanish]] children. After his wife had died, Giménez Malla began a career as a catechist under the guidance of a priest-teacher, Don Nicholas Santos de Otto.


Malla is a described as a pleasant, good-natured, tall, thin man carefully dressed and distinguished looking. Although illiterate, after his wife died, Giménez Malla began a career as a catechist under the guidance of a priest-teacher, Don Nicholas Santos de Otto, teaching both Romani and Spanish children.<ref name=Gioia/> He has a gift for catechizing children by telling them stories.
Malla also resolved disputes between Romani and Spanish people. According to Romani tradition, he also used to feed poor children. In 1926, he became a member of the [[Franciscan]] [[Third order]], and, five years later, he took part in "Night Adoration".


According to Romani tradition, he also used to feed poor children. He became a member of the [[Franciscan]] [[Third order]],<ref name=Gioia>[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.franciscanos.org/selfran32/elpele2.html&prev=search Gioia, Francesco. "Blessed Ceferino Giménez", Franciscan directory]</ref> the [[Society of St. Vincent de Paul]] and, participated in Thursday night Eucharistic Adoration.<ref name=Vilches/>
⚫
During the [[Spanish Civil War]], Giménez Malla tried to defend a Catholic priest from [[Second Spanish Republic|Republican]] soldiers. They both were arrested and then shot dead with other priests and believers. A Romani legend has it that the soldiers asked him if he had weapons, and that he answered: "Yes, and here it is", while displaying his [[rosary]]. He reportedly died holding the rosary in his hands, and shouting: "Long live [[Christ King|Christ the King]]!". His body was never found.


⚫
In July 1936, during the [[Spanish Civil War]], Giménez Malla tried to defend a Catholic priest from [[Second Spanish Republic|Republican]] militiamen. They both were arrested and imprisoned in a former Capuchin monastery, converted into a wartime prison.<ref name=Bohlen>[http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/05/world/spanish-martyr-is-first-gypsy-beatified-by-catholic-church.html Bohlen, Celestine. "Spanish Martyr Is First Gypsy Beatified by Catholic Church", ''New York Times'', May 5, 1997]</ref> A acquaintance advised him that he would probably be released if he gave up his rosary, but he refused. A Romani legend has it that the soldiers asked him if he had weapons, and that he answered: "Yes, and here it is", while displaying his [[rosary]]. On August 9, Malla and others were taken by truck to a cemetery and shot. He reportedly died holding the rosary in his hands, and shouting: "Long live [[Christ King|Christ the King]]!".<ref name=Gioia/> He was buried in a mass gave; his body has never been found.
[[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] said of Giménez Malla: "His life shows how Christ is present in the various peoples and races, and that all are called to holiness which is attained by keeping his commandments and remaining in his love (John 15:11)"

==Veneration==
On May 4, 1997 Ceferino Giménez Malla was beatified by [[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] who said that Malla: "...knew how to sow harmony and solidarity among his own, also mediating conflicts that sometimes blur the relationship between non-Roma and Roma, showing Christ's love knows no boundaries of race or culture." <ref name=Vilches>[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.zenit.org/es/articles/beato-ceferino-gimenez-malla-el-pele&prev=search Vilches, Isabel Orellana. "Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla, 'Pele'", ''Zenit'', August 2, 2013]</ref>

Approximately 3,000 Rom attended the beatification ceremony in Rome, some travelling from as far away as Slovakia and Brazil.<ref name=Bohlen/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
⚫
*[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90025 Agasso, Domenico. "Beato Zeffirino (Ceferino) Gimenez Malla", Famiglia Christiani] in Italian (translation available).


==External links==
==External links==
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* [http://www.franciscanos.org/osservatore/ceferino.html Beato Ceferino Giménez Malla] in Spanish
* [http://www.franciscanos.org/osservatore/ceferino.html Beato Ceferino Giménez Malla] in Spanish
* [http://www.terra.es/personal/angerod/ceferino.htm San Ceferino Giménez Malla] in Spanish
* [http://www.terra.es/personal/angerod/ceferino.htm San Ceferino Giménez Malla] in Spanish

⚫
* [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90025 Santi e beati. Beato Zeffirino (Ceferino) Gimenez Malla] in Italian


{{Authority control|VIAF=47572537}}
{{Authority control|VIAF=47572537}}

Revision as of 04:18, 27 March 2015

Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
Born(1861-08-26)August 26, 1861
Fraga, Huesca Province
DiedAugust 9, 1936(1936-08-09) (aged 74)[1]
Venerated inCatholic Church
BeatifiedMay 4, 1997 by Pope John Paul II
FeastMay 4
PatronageRomani people

Ceferino Giménez Malla (also known as El Pelé, "the Strong One", or "the Brave One"; August 26, 1861 — August 8, 1936) was a Spanish Gypsy, a Roman Catholic catechist and activist for Spanish Romani causes, considered the patron saint of Romani people in Roman Catholicism. A victim of the Spanish Republican militias during the Civil War, Ceferino Giménez Malla was beatified on May 4, 1997; May 4 is also his feast day.

Biography

Giménez Malla was born to Juan Jiménez and Josefa Malla, a Catholic Romani family, in either Benavent de Segriá, Lleida or in Alcolea de Cinca, Spain. Sources differ as to whether the year was 1861 or 1865.[2] He was baptized in Fraga, Huesca Province.[3] His father was a cattle-trader. The family usually waited out the winter on farms in places farmers set aside for them, or else they rented a cottage for a few months. Ceferino often wen hungry. Accompanying his father, he became conversant in Catalan as well as Romany. Around 1880 his father abandoned the family and they went to Barbastro, where his uncle taught Ceferino to weave wicker baskets. About the age of twenty, he wed Teresa Jiménez Castro according to a traditional Roma ceremony. They were happily married for forty years.[4] They had no children, but looked after his younger brothers and sisters. Around 1909 they adopted Teresa's orphaned niece, Pepita. In 1912, Giménez Malla and his wife Teresa solemnized their marriage in a Catholic ceremony, and bought a house in the Huescan town of Barbastro. Teresa died in 1922. (Pepita's descendants were still living in Spain during the early 2000s.)

Known for his honesty, Ceferino became something of a leader in the Roma community of Barbastro and the surrounding area. People would seek him out for advice, and to mediate family quarrels. He also resolved disputes between Romani and Spanish people.[4]

One day a local landowner, suffering from tuberculosis, passed out on the street. Heedless of the danger of contagion, Malla hoisted the man on his shoulders and carried him home. The grateful family rewarded him with a sum sufficient to start a business buying and selling mules which the French army no longer needed after World War I.[4] Tools with which he cleaned horseshoes and iron shoes for mules and donkeys were donated by the son of Ceferino's friend, Ferruchón, to the Museum of Martyrs in Barbastro. Ceferino was as generous to the poor and needy as he is successful. It is said that he often lent money to poor Roma, and also allowed them to remove from the stables the animals they liked most. They could pay their debts when they sold them or at the end of their seasonal work when they could afford to do so.

Malla is a described as a pleasant, good-natured, tall, thin man carefully dressed and distinguished looking. Although illiterate, after his wife died, Giménez Malla began a career as a catechist under the guidance of a priest-teacher, Don Nicholas Santos de Otto, teaching both Romani and Spanish children.[5] He has a gift for catechizing children by telling them stories.

According to Romani tradition, he also used to feed poor children. He became a member of the Franciscan Third order,[5] the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and, participated in Thursday night Eucharistic Adoration.[3]

In July 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, Giménez Malla tried to defend a Catholic priest from Republican militiamen. They both were arrested and imprisoned in a former Capuchin monastery, converted into a wartime prison.[6] A acquaintance advised him that he would probably be released if he gave up his rosary, but he refused. A Romani legend has it that the soldiers asked him if he had weapons, and that he answered: "Yes, and here it is", while displaying his rosary. On August 9, Malla and others were taken by truck to a cemetery and shot. He reportedly died holding the rosary in his hands, and shouting: "Long live Christ the King!".[5] He was buried in a mass gave; his body has never been found.

Veneration

On May 4, 1997 Ceferino Giménez Malla was beatified by Pope John Paul II who said that Malla: "...knew how to sow harmony and solidarity among his own, also mediating conflicts that sometimes blur the relationship between non-Roma and Roma, showing Christ's love knows no boundaries of race or culture." [3]

Approximately 3,000 Rom attended the beatification ceremony in Rome, some travelling from as far away as Slovakia and Brazil.[6]

References

  1. ^ Miklušáková, Marta. "Ceferino Jiménez Malla – 'El Pelé'", Rombase
  2. ^ "Ceferino Giménez Malla", Vincentian Library
  3. ^ a b c Vilches, Isabel Orellana. "Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla, 'Pele'", Zenit, August 2, 2013
  4. ^ a b c Pettiti, Gianpiero. "Blessed Ceferino (Ceferino) Gimenez Malla", Santi Beati, March 11, 2012
  5. ^ a b c Gioia, Francesco. "Blessed Ceferino Giménez", Franciscan directory
  6. ^ a b Bohlen, Celestine. "Spanish Martyr Is First Gypsy Beatified by Catholic Church", New York Times, May 5, 1997

Further reading

External links


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